Caps concerned about spread of swine flu

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Quintin Laing has been diagnosed with swine flu. A team spokesman said the left wing is resting at home, but is quarantined away from his wife and two infant sons.

As of this morning, no one on the Capitals -- player or coach -- is exhibiting symptoms of swine flu, according to the team. Laing's roommate on the road, Tyler Sloan, said he's taking extra precautions -- washing his hands frequently and taking antiviral drug Tamiflu -- but isn't overly concerned about getting sick.

Laing is at least the third NHL player to be diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, according to the Caps.

"After I got the flu shot [two weeks ago] I didn't feel well," Sloan said. "But it was a 24-hour thing. I'm not too worried about it. I'm pretty aware about it. I've been getting emails from friends and family about things to do not to get it."

Sloan added: "I was concerned for Quintin and his family because he's got two boys and one is under the age of two. Everything's okay now. I texted him and he's doing okay."

Laing arrived for the morning skate Tuesday morning and went to see the team's head athletic trainer, Greg Smith, who promptly recognized the symptoms and sent him to a doctor. Although Laing has not taken the test for H1N1, the doctor diagnosed him with swine flu based on the symptoms, a team spokesman said.

"He's currently at home and is isolated," Capitals spokesman Nate Ewell said. "The proper terminology is that he was diagnosed but not tested. He was tested for common flu, seasonal flu. That turned up negative, but he was showing symptoms for swine flu, so he's being treated as such. That's common because the test for H1N1 is cost prohibitive."

Ewell said Laing will not return to the team until he's symptom free.

In the meantime, the Caps are taking steps to prevent the spread of swine flu. Smith held a meeting with the players and coaches before today's practice to outline the symptoms -- fever over 101 degrees, body aches, sore throat and congestion and coughing -- and urged them to see the team's medical staff immediately if they begin to feel unwell.

Captain Chris Clark said the team has put hand sanitizer bottles around the practice facility and players are being asked to wash their hands more frequently. Before reporters were admitted to the Caps' locker room after last night's 4-2 victory over the Flyers, a security guard offered hand sanitizer.

The players were also offered flu shots recently. Most took one, though some did not. Brooks Laich said he opted not to have the shot.

"All we can do is if someone gets a symptom, send him home and keep him away," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "As soon as [Laing] came in and had three of the four symptoms, [Smith] sent him to the doctor and we isolated him away from us."

Boudreau also said he plans to talk to his players to avoid shaking hands when greeting people.

It's been a rough eight months for Laing, who suffered a torn spleen in his only game with the Caps last season.

"He's a hard-luck guy," Boudreau said. "But one thing about Quintin is he'll be battling back. ... He said, 'Hey I'm fine. I can play.' But we're being overly cautious. We don't want him in the hotel, with guys, traveling on the plane. Because we don't want this to catch on."

Some other notes:

*Tomas Fleischmann has returned from his conditioning stint in Hershey, but has not been put on the active roster yet. Boudreau said the team will likely have to make a roster move to accommodate him.

*Boyd Gordon (sore back) did not return to practice as expected today.

*Eric Fehr (ribs) practiced but is still day-to-day after missing last night's game.

I don't think hand sanitizers work against viruses. In fact they don't even kill all bacterias. It's a joke that the team put hand sanitizers. The only thing that can help against bacteria, viruses, even radiation, is to wash your hands, flushing the bad stuff down the toilet.

As of Semin, he would be the first case of H1N1 in the NHL. Apparently the team didn't want that publicity. They only declared Laing with H1N1 after two cases already reported.

Now, Laing might not have H1N1, the team just followed the suit of two other NHL teams.

Symptoms of seasonal flu include: fever (often high), headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches.
Stomach symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, also can occur but are more common in children than adults.

2009 H1N1 flu symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may also have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, including 2009 H1N1, and have respiratory symptoms without a fever.

Same difference... Until the test is done, you can't declare that Laing has H1N1 !

Hand sanitizer will work as long as it alchohol based. Alchohol kills microorganisms instantly. The other stuff that uses an anti-microbal residue in a suspension gel is useless against nearly all resilient pathogens. Influenza, in all strains, is a highly resilient pathogen.

Well, I have plenty of alcohol. I'll just put my hands over a big bowl and then have someone pour the beer over my hands. Then of course since the beer has killed the germs I can lift the bowl and drink the beer. It will kinda feel like in a very small way I'm guzzling from the Cup. I will doubtless have the urge often to "wash up" and then drink from Lord Stanley's bowl.

Hand sanitizer will work as long as it alchohol based. Alchohol kills microorganisms instantly.

Posted by: akmzrazor | October 28, 2009 2:25 PM

No, not really. The only stuff that kills all microorganisms instantly would also wreck your skin (e.g. bleach). Anyways, influenza is a virus, which is different. Soap and water is the best protection. It doesn't kill anything but it literally washes away a very large percentage of the viruses and bacteria present on your hands.

CDC says if you DON'T have access to water and soap, use alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

If you do, washing the hands is the best because it will wash away everything: bacteria, viruses, radiation, you name it.

But a study published in this month's issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases found that at least one brand of sanitizer found on store shelves, as well as some recipes for homemade versions circulating on Web sites about crafts or directed at parents, contain significantly less than the 60 percent minimum alcohol concentration that health officials deem necessary to kill most harmful bacteria and viruses.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/21/health/21cons.html?_r=1"What this should say to the consumer is that they need to look carefully at the label before they buy any of these products," said Elaine Larson, professor of pharmaceutical and therapeutic research at Columbia's nursing school. "Check the bottle for active ingredients. It might say ethyl alcohol, ethanol, isopropanol or some other variation, and those are all fine. But make sure that whichever of those alcohols is listed, its concentration is between 60 and 95 percent. Less than that isn't enough."

How much alcohol whiskey has?

In the United States, the proof of an alcoholic beverage is twice its alcohol content expressed as percentage by volume at 60°F. So an 80-proof whiskey is 40% alcohol.

I doubt that Caps team is using hand sanitizers that have more alcohol than whiskey or vodka.

i dont want this to sound bad, but of all the guys i think of who would be most likely to get the swine flu, it would be Q. something about the guy and the dirty work he does on the ice just makes it sound obvious that he would catch something called swine flu. i imagine he's the guy w/ the smelliest equipment too. just a guess. hope he gets well soon!!

My doctor said that the seasonal flu isn't even around yet so if you get sick right now chances are it's the swine flu. This is straight from his mouth, don't shoot the messenger. The media has so overhyped this H1N1 thing that it's ridiculous, people die from the flu EVERY year, this just happens to be a different strain, so what!!??

Alcohol doesn't cut through grime well, so dirt, blood, feces or other body fluids or soil must be wiped or washed away first, if the alcohol in the sanitizer is to be effective. In such cases, hand washing with soap and water is advised.

"Quentin Lange in fine and healty," redskins spokesman dave donohue said,"if it wasnt for the constant barrage of articles in the washington post about swine flu, quentin would have played last night. The constant and mean spirited articles in the post about H1N1 has resulted in quentin feeling sick and it's because of the post's vendetta against the swine flu that we gave up 2 power play goals last night."

tominfl1, thanks for the recipe. I have the page open now and was wondering if you used the syrup or the nectar. I had prickly pear candy years ago when I was living in the Southwest and enjoyed it, so I imagine the margarita version is good too.

lylewimbledon, we could always make it a best-alcoholic-drinks-to-prevent-the-flu thread instead.

MikeL, thanks for the laugh!

That said, any kind of flu is no joke, and we should all try to be as careful as we can not to catch or spread the virus.

TORONTO - Canadian hockey associations are urging players to avoid sharing water bottles to avoid the spread of swine flu.
They say the flu death of a 13-year-old player earlier this week has hammered that message home.

Tony Foresi, president of Alliance Hockey, says it's essential to educate players, coaches and parents about the dangers of sharing personal items.

Foresi says his organization, which represents 20 Ontario minor league teams with more than 31,000 members, is also looking at whether to recommend against the traditional handshakes before and after games in favour of some other way of showing sportsmanship.

Experts say the risk of spreading the swine flu from shared water bottles is huge.

CodePoetry - in a related story I heard they will be transitioning from the traditional handshake to a more contemporary fist or forearm bump. These narrowly beat out OV and Nicky's post game jumping shoulder bump

Biggest epidemic is guys not washing their hands after using the facilities.
Geebus, in my Fortune 100 financial company, there are execs doing that crap - no pun intended.
I'm doing what trump does, no touching.

Get well Quintin! My older son just got over it, younger one got the swine flu shot. He had neck pain and stiffness, high fever, headache, sore throat, chills,coughing, and he was delirious. He took Tamiflu for 5 days, and he is back at school. He has asthma too, so it wasn't as bad as I anticipated it to be. I sure hope the rest of the team doesn't get it! Take care!

The casualty list keeps growing in Oil country. First came Ales Hemsky and Ladislav Smid, and then Gilbert Brule and Mike Comrie.

Hemsky missed the Oilers' 5-2 victory over the Wild on October 16, but logged 19:16 of ice time against the Canucks the following Monday, while Smid missed a couple of days before returning to the lineup in the Oilers' 6-4 win over the Blue Jackets last Thursday.

Centres Gilbert Brule and Mike Comrie are the latest Oilers to be struck with the flu. Both missed last weekend's trip to Calgary, but are expected back this evening when the Oilers host the Avalanche.

"I was bed-ridden and achy everywhere," Brule explained of the symptoms. "I was really dehydrated. I had headaches and a high fever. It was a tough few days but I'm glad to be back with the team now."

The lead article on Washington Post discusses the shortfall of Tamiflu and now to read that two capitals are being treated is sickening. They are each taking medication that could be used to 4 children who are actually at risk. They are depriving 8 children of medication. This is a gross misuse of medication for people who are not at-risk. As an organization that pretends to care about the community this proves that to be wrong

@stevekbomb--only one Caps player reported taking Tamiflu--you are making assumptions that Laing is also taking it. The article only states that he is "isolated" away from the team and his family--he has young children. Before getting on your high-horse, read the article carefully.

Must say though I've really enjoyed reading everyone's comments--it's always great after a win.

I have a question for those more knowledgeable than I about the subtleties of hockey--I've read that Poti played a great game and I've read that Poti was terrible. I'm sure the truth is somewhere between, but why the disparity in Poti's contribution to the game last night? Where was he good and where was he terrible? Asset or liability?

As for Poti, he was plus 1 for the game, and green was a plus 3. Schultz and SMorrison were also a plus 1 and Juice was even.
Sure, Poti was called for the Penalty Shot and he appeared to be getting beat to the puck at times but I think that was more based on BB's game plan, which was more stressed for zone coverage of the slot.
Just my 2 cents.

How did his NHL teammate get the vaccine? Isn't it being prioritized to young children? Aren't seniors being turned away by the death panel squads? How did a healthy athlete move to the front of the line?

@georgejones5--take your politics to another board--this is a HOCKEY board. I know of many healthy not at risk people in my neighborhood who got tamiflu and the swine flu vaccination because it's available to the military but not at my son's doctors office. So we are unprotected. But I'm not making accusations or ranting--people get it when they can. For all we know we got the Tamiflu from his doctor in Canada. He was most likely exposed given that he was the roommate of the player who has been diagnosed. Go away.

calm down everyone. Sloan did NOT get the H1N1 vaccine above children and the elderly. It says he got Tamiflu. Tamiflu is NOT the h1N1 vaccine. It's a TREATMENT that has been used for seasonal flu so may or may not work for swine flu. You can get it, too, georgejones. Sounds like the team got the chance to get SEASONAL flu shots and some (like Laich)preferred to roll the dice. (NOT a good idea, especially if you're sharing water bottles!!)